NEW Socceroos coach Bert van Marwijk has opened up on what helped him decide to take the national team's top job.

The Dutchman said the initial call from the FFA's Luke Casserly gave him "the right feeling" from the beginning about the role.

van Marwijk said he made it clear he was interested in the job - as long as the FFA "really" wanted him.

"I think Luke Casserly he called me maybe a month ago, maybe five, six weeks ago - I don't even remember. I was at home," van Marwijk said on Fox Sports' A-League Hour.

"I knew that my name was already in the paper, the rumours, only rumours. So he phoned me and when said he was from the Australian football federation, I knew enough.

"And I remember that I said 'I'm interested - only I must ever have the feeling that they really want me, otherwise you can forget it.'

"But he gave me the right feeling from the beginning. It was very simple - a few phone calls, and then we sat together."

Bert van Marwijk. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

van Marwijk was at the helm when Saudi Arabia - in the same group as Australia - qualified directly for the World Cup ahead of the Socceroos.

He said while Australia had taken a difficult path to Russia 2018, the fact they made their way through qualifiers against Syria and Honduras showed the team had the right mentality.

"The way from Australia to the World Championship was very, very difficult," he said.

"I think you were very disappointed after the last game here against Thailand, because you should have won with three, four, five goals difference - it was for us in Saudi Arabia, we couldn't qualify then.

"So you were very disappointed, then still you are qualifying. So that means that there's nothing wrong with the mentality."

When discussing his experiences with the Socceroos, van Marwijk said the Australian players had all the attributes - including speed and creativity - that were important.

"When you see them on the pitch, they give you already the feeling that they like to play football, they like to do sport and I know the mentality is very well and you have a great sports culture," he said.

"And they are strong, physical, strong and (have) the right mentality.

"All the things in football (that) are important - speed, creativity and I think you can play football.

"And for me the most important thing, for me, is to create, really, a good team.

"Because my experience also at the World Championship in 2010 and 2002 with Feyenoord as we won the European Cup is that we didn't have the best players but we had the best team."